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angie the antitheist…

28 Feb 2010 by admin

jeez!  i was out of the house for a few hours yesterday and this story blew like a nuclear bomb while i was out.  there are hundreds, maybe thousands of stories, videos, blogs and such out there detailing everyone and their brother’s opinion on this story.

angie…pregnant but unable to carry out the pregnancy due to medical issues that may end in her death…decided to use RU486 (the “abortion pill”) to terminate the pregnancy.  according to angie, she was in the first month of her first trimester so well within the guidelines.

abortion is such a hot button issue within the US.   it’s such a delicate issue because there is no middle ground…at all.  you either complete the pregnancy or terminate it.  there is no compromise such as with health care.

i have 3 lovely children.  i would have had more if i could have convinced my darling husband.  i can’t have any more kids though….another story, another time.  my first child was from a relationship that ended.  i was young, 19, and very naive.  when an older guy says he’s leaving his wife for you…just hang on…be wary, be very wary!

strangely enough, i never even thought of abortion at the time.  i say strangely enough because during the months leading up to that pregnancy i had left my mom’s house and moved in with friends…shortly after high school graduation.  this small town that i lived in was like a peyton place.  rumors abound…always.  the huge rumor surrounding my move was that i had to quickly leave town to have an abortion.  ohhhh…yes.  the rumor mill went crazy!  i was loose, immoral and just eager for an abortion.

imagine my delight at thwarting these vultures by coming home pregnant a few months later.  i didn’t hear the rumor until one of my cousins or my sister mentioned it sometime later.  anyway…more on small towns in another  post!

back to the abortion.  angie live tweeted as her abortion was proceeding.  she wanted women to know that abortions didn’t have to be the nightmare that pro-lifers would have you believe.  she seemed to want women to know that you can make the choice that is right for you and not have to pay eternally for it.

i guess i don’t have much to add except that i think she was brave and honest about a less than ideal situation.  i wish that women in our country were able to freely access that which is a right without the harassment and threat that pro-lifers offer everyday.

as always…i see america regressing.  we’re falling behind in the world in so many ways and all of those ways seem to come back and lay right at the feet of religion.

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bipartisanship…

25 Feb 2010 by admin

i’ve realized this morning after watching this supposed health care summit, i don’t want bipartisanship.  generally that means leaving the things that matter the most on the cutting room floor…neutering the bill if you will.

when i listen to assholes such as john cornyn and mike pence and john mccain and their vitriol, i stop caring about what it is they want.  they can fuck off for all i care.  they are doing NOTHING to help me.  fuckers!

these men care more about scoring political jabs while being televised.  i heard from one reporter that the republicans are winning the day during this summit.  why?  because they are not speaking about genuine ways that they can come together.  they’re reading their talking points and trying to insult the democrats.  there are a couple – kyl and coburn – who tried to put some actual ideas out there.  for the most part, though, it’s republican showmanship…the giant senate bills and the 11 page proposal by obama.  props and talking points…no substance.

jon stewart had a wonderful monologue on the republican whining about putting a bill out then the bill not being comprehensive enough…take a look at huffington post:

jon stewart: summit’s eve

i’m frustrated…republicans don’t represent what my family needs and democrats don’t seem be strong enough to fight for what we need.  i wish i spoke swedish….

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health savings accounts and more…

25 Feb 2010 by admin

fucking ridiculous.  this is rep. bill cassidy’s plan to help solve health care issues-health savings accounts.   my family can barely pay the daily bills that we have to take care of let alone set a large portion aside for medical savings.  as democrats have said, these accounts are great for upper middle and high income families.  we’re middle income and it’s not feasible for us.

what i’ve noticed over and over again in the republican ideas are that they cater to the wealthy.  they favor business over consumer.  it’s hard to stomach.  it’s also hard to stomach the fact that republicans have spent years ignoring the problems with health care….and besides that even actively trying to do away with medicare and medicaid.  why should i believe that they will help me?  they’ve given me nothing in the way of proof to show that they would.

my family is full of preexisting conditions.  we’re fucked if my husband loses his job…absolutely fucked.  my husband and i dream of owning our own business.  we have, what we think, is a great idea and one that we talk about often.  we couldn’t ever do it though….due to preexisting conditions.

here how’s it shakes out in my family:

my husband: colon cancer, high cholesterol, osteopenia, compression fracture of vertebrae with repair
myself: bi-polar, asthma, migraines, hashimoto’s thyroiditis
kaitlyn: occasional thyroid issues but relatively healthy thank goodness
thomas: asthma but relatively healthy
tyler: pectorus carinatum but relatively healthy

so were does that leave us?  only tyler could get coverage for asthma, as long as he doesn’t develop it in middle school like i did.  kaitlyn and i can’t get coverage for thyroid issues.  my husband will most likely be denied coverage altogether.

i’m just so tired of worrying about this.  we keep talking about how america is the greatest country in the world.  it’s not anymore.  we’re delusional.  our health care is 37th in the world.  our education is far behind in all aspects.  our green policies lag far behind.  our public transportation system is non existent in most parts of the country.  our civil rights are starting to lag. we’re in two wars which are not going well.  our relations with nations around the world were damaged severely by the cowboy nature of the last regime.

i’ve never been so pessimistic about the future of america.  this is due squarely to the destruction wreaked between 2001 through 2008 and the above issues further harmed by bush/cheney.

why is it NOW that all these teabaggers want to remember life and liberty?  why NOW do they feel we need to reform government?  it’s disgusting.

watching the summit…getting more and more disgusted.  boehner, blackburn, mccain and mcconnell just seem interested in scoring political points.  kyl and coburn did have a bit more in the way of ideas but seem unwilling to meet half way.

as obama has said over and over, the democrats have included many republican ideas but that doesn’t mean that they will be added word for word.  that’s the idea of compromise….you don’t get your way entirely and we don’t get ours.

the repubs keep talking about the percentage of americans who are against these bills as put forward.  that masks the facts.  i’m against the bills as put forward…not because they’re bad but because they don’t go far enough!  i think a decent percentage of those people are like me.

argh!  enough for now…

Category: congress, family, healthcare, kaitlyn, medical, michael, opinions and thoughts, politics, repugs, senate, shannon, thomas, tyler  Tags: , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment

skewed political health care stories…

21 Feb 2010 by admin

ok…a good riesling to start the rant…and off we go!

this is one thing that drives me crazy and i’m sure i’ve ranted about it before.  taking information that on it’s face value seems to support your point but which is really taken out of it’s context and true meaning.

there is a story about a poll that was analyzed.  it says that 70% of americans are behind the health care reform. that’s health care reform as a whole.  i can believe that.

republicans however keep trotting out the stale, tired statement that the overwhelming majority of the public is against health care reform.  if you look at certain poll numbers it looks that way.

however, this is different than the 70% above although they would seem to be conflicting.  it seems as if you cannot have the two side by side; either they’re for it or they’re against it.  right?

WRONG…if you look at the number of americans against health care reform right now, they form two distinct groups.  one group is opposed to it on it’s face.  they think health care in the US is fine…nothing broken…let us keep the status quo.  the other group believes the system is broken…our premiums are going up…our amount of care is going down…we need change.

so…what does this mean?

simply this, if you look at the path that this recent health care debate has taken it has taken the path to piss off the most people possible:

if you’re a conservative, you’re mad it started in the first place; after all, you hadn’t done anything in the previous 8 years to fix it and you wouldn’t be doing anything now if you were in charge.  you think that each state can handle it on their own.  you think that businesses need to be protected even at the cost of their employees.  overall, you think we should hold steady at our current place or even go backward; remove medicare entirely.  you’ve argued that insurance be able to be sold across state lines; a good idea.  but you are unwilling to allow there to be any central oversight; a bad idea.  you wish to include tort reform; a good idea.  but you think this is a central policy which it’s not.  tort reform has overwhelmingly been shown to be such a small portion of overall costs that this is like swatting at flies!  what are your other ideas…i’m not sure.  i haven’t been able to get any coherent list of conservative ideas that make any sense.  conservatives seem to be hinging it all on those two things.

now if you’re a liberal, you’re mad now that everything you thought was worth fighting for has been stripped from the bills presented.  i, as a liberal, would like to see one public option; one national health care system.  i think this best cares for the population as a whole.  that was dashed against the rocks very quickly.  ok…onto the public option.  this seems fantastic…the best of all worlds.  those that already have insurance through employers will stay with those policies.  those that can afford to purchase their own will keep those but for those who are such severe risks or financially incapable of buying their own insurance would be able to have government support.  awesome!  no…that wasn’t acceptable either.  ok, what next, here is where i’m unclear.  liberals want everyone to be covered.  we want preexisting condition policies off of the table (i’m a victim of that one).  we want straight forward care with no games.  but what have we gotten in the end?  i’m not sure, to be honest.  the final bill was so laden with holes that i can’t figure out what it would have done for me.

so with all of that being said, look at the poll numbers.  if you were to go deeper into what the majority means, you would find people on both sides.  it’s not that the overwhelming majority of americans are against health care reform.  it’s that the numbers are  split.  one portion doesn’t want reform at all and the other thinks the reform should be tougher.  i would like to see the pollsters cover this completely and fairly for once.  one number cannot be taken on face value.

so yes, i believe that 70% of americans want health care reform.  do i believe that a majority are against it…again, yes i do but that’s split into the gone to far and not far enough groups.

whew….i need another drink!

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the asses in mass…

18 Jan 2010 by admin

if scott brown is elected tomorrow…which it appears he will be…the people of mass. deserve everything they get. i know…this is a mantra of mine – you deserve what you get – but how can memories possibly be THIS short. it was only a scant few months back that we had a republican president who was marking the days on his calendar until he could cut and run. we had a republican administration who could care less about the average american. we had an administration who cared more about getting another dollar to the top tier of americans. it was tough to get anything done under those guys. we had a congress controlled by democrats but not a filibuster proof majority. so we thought..if only…

obama was elected on a wave of good will. americans felt like we could finally come together. maybe that was our problem. republicans had no intention of coming together. obstruction was the word of the day on republican street. i guess i’m confused…when was it that a majority in congress suddenly become 60 rather than 51? seriously, i’m not confused at all.

if the american memory is so short…it’s only a matter of time before we had back to pre-emptive strikes, back to wall street protection, back to secrets and deception. if it matters so little…we live with what we get.

republicans spent 8 years ignorning the growing health insurance problem within the US. if we reelect these republicans who are determined to stop health reform at all costs…we will go right back to that growing problem. what is scott brown’s solution for health reform? we don’t know…what is any republican’s plan for health reform?

i’m disgusted…but resigned. we will probably lose in mass. we will probably lose this fall…maybe not our majority but certainly what tiny bit of power the dems were unafraid to use.

Category: Uncategorized, congress, healthcare, opinions and thoughts, politics, repugs  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment
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